Topics - smartandunique

Hi Guys- I was just browsing another site and they had a good debate regarding the URM boost.Someone wanted to know why AA recd a higher boost than other minorites.No one seemed to know the answer. I read somewhere , not on that site,that the reason was because AA were the most under represented.Asians may not get the boost because as a whole their ethnic group includes Chinese,Laotions,Cambodians,etc. Unsure how URM affects Mexican Americans or if the boost is lower because they may be counted as hispanics. Just curious what you guys think about this.

For the record I am an AA. As for the boost, I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, any advantage helps. However I will not apply to schools that I feel are out of my league. My reaches are schools that put me in the 25th %. I have no way of knowing why I was admitted to a school but I feel comfortable knowing that my numbers should match the majority of students.As much as I look forward to my first day of law school I know regardless of my numbers someone will think I took someone else's place and I doubt they will think that other person looks like me.

I didn't post in the minority area because I want to hear from everybody.

Just curious-I live in a state that has 2 law schools.One school is a tier one and the other is a tier 3. For the tier 3 school I would be in the 75th percentile- if accepted to the tier one school I'd barely be in the 25th percentile. I plan to stay in Iowa and was thinking even though U of Iowa is considered a better school I would be better off at Drake if accepted at both. Wouldn't it be better for me to attend a school where my numbers are stronger then attend a school where I'm already at a disadvantage?I would appreciate all opinions

Hi everybody-does anyone know about the Masters of Jurisprudence degree? If I don't get accepted to a law school I'd like to attend, I was considering this degree.I know a lot of people attend law school for a JD but have no desire to be a lawyer and that's who this degree is marketed at,per the admissions staff.I'd like to be a legal aid attorney but if I couldn't attend law school I'd still like to work for the goverment.What's your opinions? Thanks

HiCan anyone share any personal insight about Southern or any other HBCU law school? I'm considering applying to a couple but the only one I ever hear anything good about is Howard. I've checked the websites, but I'd love to hear from people who have actually attended these schools or knows someone who did. thanks

I saw this on cnnWanted by the Drug Enforcement Administration: Ebonics translators.

It might sound like a punch line, as "Ebonics" -- the common name for what linguists call African-American English -- has long been the butt of jokes, as well as the subject of controversy.

But the agency is serious about needing nine people to translate conversations picked up on wiretaps during investigations, Special Agent Michael Sanders said Tuesday. A solicitation was sent to contractors as part of a request to companies to provide hundreds of translators in 114 languages.

"DEA's position is, it's a language form we have a need for," Sanders said. "I think it's a language form that DEA recognizes a need to have someone versed in to conduct investigations."

The translators, being hired in the agency's Southeast Region -- which includes Atlanta, Georgia; Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; Miami, Florida; and the Caribbean -- would listen to wiretaps, translate what was said and be able to testify in court if necessary, he said.

"The concept is right and good," said Walt Wolfram, distinguished professor of English linguistics at North Carolina State University. "Why wouldn't you want experts who can help you understand what people are communicating?"

"On one level, it's no different than someone from the Outer Banks of North Carolina who speaks a distinct brogue," he said. "The problem is that even the term 'Ebonics' is so controversial and politicized that it becomes sort of a free-for-all."

Wolfram -- who has authored more than 20 books on English dialects, including African-American English -- recalled the Black Panther trials during the 1970s, when there was debate over whether the saying, "Off the pigs," was a genuine threat to kill police officers or a more metaphorical saying.

And Ebonics is no longer spoken only by African-Americans, Sanders said, referring to it as "urban language" or "street language." He said he is aware of investigations in recent years in which it was spoken by African-Americans, Latinos and white people. "It crosses over geographic, racial and ethnic backgrounds," he said.

While the DEA wants to have the translators available, it may not need to call upon them, he said. He did not know how much it would cost to have the translators available.

"I can't say it's spoken all the time, like Spanish and Vietnamese," Sanders said. "But there are people trying to use this to evade detection" while trafficking in drugs, he said.

Asked whether agency currently has agents who can translate Ebonics, Sanders said some who have worked on local police forces can help pick out words on wiretaps.

The term "Ebonics" -- a blend of "ebony" and "phonics" -- became known in 1996, when the Oakland, California, Unified School District proposed using it in teaching English. After the school board came under fire, it voted to alter the plan, which recognized Ebonics as a distinct language.

The revised plan removed reference to Ebonics as "genetically based" and as the "primary language" of students. The board also removed a part that some understood to indicate that African-American students would be taught in Ebonics, although the board denied such intentions.

"There is something of substance here," said Wolfram, who said he has studied African-American English for 40 years. "There are differences in terms of language and lexicon and so forth that are difficult to understand for most people. So it is an issue. What, of course, happens is, it gets politicized and trivialized by the very term 'Ebonics.'"

He acknowledged it's often presented as "nothing but bad language." But, he said, "However you view it ... why wouldn't you want to avail yourself of all the interpretive capability that you can get?"

African-American English is "a systematic language variety, with patterns of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and usage that extend far beyond slang," according to the website of the Center for Applied Linguistics, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that says it aims to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture.

"Because it has a set of rules that is distinct from those of standard American English, characterizations of the variety as bad English are incorrect," the center said. "Speakers of AAE do not fail to speak standard American English, but succeed in speaking African American English."

Language barriers that contribute to conflicts between nations can be a "serious issue," Wolfram noted. "It's the same point here."

He said the translators could help in investigations, as "the differences between dialect and code words can get pretty blurry at times."

Sanders said DEA plans to continue seeking the translators.

What do u guys think? Honestly how would they advertise this job? I have mixed feelings. They could ask some of they people they arrested in the past.It could be a ex criminal's way of giving back. Unless they think as many do-snitches get stiches. They wouldn't actually be snitching though.

Hi Everybody-I'm just curious for the reasons ur going to law school? In my personal statement I said I was seeking power,not for power's sake but to be an agent of change.I also want to have influence.Please share.

Hi everyone. I wwas just wondering how everyone is deciding where to apply.I've visited schools that I thought i wanted to attend and based on that expierence I was so turned off I didn't even apply.I've also been impressed by schools that I never really considered attending.